High-voltage batteries for motor vehicle applications, especially in motor vehicles with a hybrid or pure electric power system, are becoming more important. Such batteries typically have a plurality of battery cells, e.g., lithium-ion cells, which need to be cooled in order to dissipate generated heat.
DE 10 2008 059 967 A1 describes a heat-conducting plate arranged in a battery housing for controlling the temperature of the battery, whereby several electrically parallel and/or serially interconnected individual cells are connected with the heat-conduction plate in a heat-conductive manner. Here, the heat-conducting plate is made of a base plate provided with a circular molded edge, into which a cooling coil is inserted and sealed.
DE 10 2008 034 873 A1 also describes a battery having several single cells interconnected in series and/or in parallel and with a cooling element for cooling the individual cells. The cooling element is designed as a heat sink provided with notches into each of which, a single cell is at least partially arranged in longitudinal extension.
The structure described in the above-mentioned references requires that both terminals of the single cells be guided on one side, i.e., through the upper cell cover.
This complicates the structure of the cells. In addition, each layer of juxtaposed individual cells requires a separate heat sink. Furthermore, accurate determination of physical features of the battery cells during battery operation, such as the temperature in the battery cells, is difficult in the above-described structure.
Moreover, further development with regard to safe and low-vibration fixation of the individual battery cells is desirable, especially in automotive applications, at least because the fixation determines the life and durability of the battery.
In the production of high-voltage batteries, the number of components that need to be combined in a predefined sequence is not insignificant, while safety aspects, such as “live-line working” or “working under high voltage” are allowed. Improving the reliability of installation therefore represents a further challenge in the design of batteries.